


Primped and Primed

by lacewingss



Series: Inquisitor Nethra Lavellan [2]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Awkward Cullen, Dress Up, Friendship, Self-Esteem Issues, The Winter Palace (Dragon Age)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-22
Updated: 2015-03-22
Packaged: 2018-03-19 03:17:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3594333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lacewingss/pseuds/lacewingss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leliana and Josephine insist on helping the Inquisitor get ready for the ball at the Winter Palace, while Cullen waits to accompany her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Primped and Primed

“Are you sure this is what everyone will be wearing?”

Nethra stood facing the the mirror in her guest chamber at the Winter Palace, ineffectually trying to tug the top of her dress over her exposed skin. _I look like Vivienne_ , she thought, noticing just how much cleavage the tailored dress showed off. How did Vivienne run around in robes like this all day? Nethra imagined if she had to sprint in this dress she would undoubtedly suffer from a severe wardrobe malfunction.

“Not everyone, Inquisitor. You're going to look better dressed than half the court in this.” Josephine appeared behind her, smiling into the mirror. She and Leliana had forcibly offered to assist Nethra in getting ready for the Empress's ball this evening, and had been primping and priming her for hours. By this point Nethra was exhausted, and she hadn't even attended the event yet.

“We have to show them that you are capable of being one of them, and deserve their support. It is all part of the Game.” Josephine was reiterating the importance of the upcoming peace talks, as she had been doing since first walking into the room. Nethra understood, truly, but all the fuss about her appearance was foreign to her. She had attended peace talks before; she had been a liaison of her clan for many years, and never had she needed to dress like a noble to get her point across.

“And I have to do it in _these_?” she held up the offending object, fingers gripping the many straps of a pair of elegant heels.

Leliana looked as if she had just been personally offended, and snatched the shoes away. “These are magnificent! I picked them out myself; you will be the envy of every woman at the ball in these.”

“Not if I fall flat on my face in front of the Empress,” Nethra muttered, not wanting to hurt Leliana’s feelings further, but unconvinced of the shoe's importance. She turned away from the mirror, walking with bare feet to a padded seat nearby. She had seen enough of herself for now. The dress she wore was beautiful – there was no denying that. It formed closely to her upper body, dipping low between her breasts before widening at the hips into layers of ruffles and lace. Sleeves stretched tight around her upper arms down to her wrists, leaving her shoulders and neck bare with freckles littering every inch of exposed skin. Colored with greens and soft tans, the dress brought out her eyes until they shone in the flickering candle light like gems.

Her advisers may be telling her she looked the part of beautiful noble, but Nethra did not feel it. The silk and lace itched against her skin and she wished for the worn leather of her armor and the smell of tress and dirt that clung to it. To Nethra her eyes looked too bright, too fervid and nervous, and the way her freckles cluttered her shoulders made her feel more flawed than ever before.

The woman who had looked back at her in the mirror was not Nethra. It felt another part she must play, as being the Herald had been. Yet this act left her self conscious and feeling nothing like the leader of the Inquisition. How was she to save the Empress and win the favor of the court when she felt an imposter in her own skin?

Nethra was jolted from her thoughts as Josephine was again at her side. The human's fingers deftly ran through her hair, giving one final tousle to all the waves and carefully positioning them so her ears pointed through. “Perhaps she's right, Leliana. If Nethra is unaccustomed to walking in such shoes it may be best to find a, ah....flatter pair.”

“Fine, fine. I suppose you can just wear these.” Leliana picked another pair from a trunk besides the bed, these ones with just as many straps, but no heel to speak of. Nethra silently thanked the Creators for the change, knowing her night had just become much more comfortable.

“What a waste...” The wistful look on her spymasters face was enough to melt Nethra's heart. “You should wear them, Leliana. They'll look much better on you, anyway.” Not to mention the gold that the Inquisition had spent on them would not go to waste.

“Oh, Inquisitor, I couldn't! Could I?”

Nethra just smiled, glad she could still make someone's evening better, even if it wasn't her own. She was just finishing tying the last strap of her new shoes on when there was a knock on the door. She quickly stood, noting that the many layers of her dress slowed her movement considerably. She hoped there would be no need for dexterity tonight, except for the swiftness she would need to slip away from the dancing.

“Ladies? Inquisitor? Excuse my interruption but it's nearly time to...to...” The door had opened and Cullen was walking in, dressed in his own formal attire. His words stopped cold the moment his eyes fell on Nethra; he could do nothing but stare in rapture. Nethra felt his eyes on her and an uncharacteristic blush spread across her cheeks. She looked away from Cullen just in time to catch Leliana and Josephine share a playful glance.

“Doesn't the Inquisitor look lovely, Commander?” Leliana asked, her voice sweet and teasing.

“She looks...yes, very beauti-er, lovely. Very lovely.” Cullen was stumbling over his words, still unable to take his eyes from Nethra as he had never seen her before. Leliana laughed, pushing him towards the door.

“We will be right out, Cullen.”

“Ah, right, of course. I'll just- I'll wait out there.” With a mumbled apology the commander hastily left the room, leaving the three once again alone.

“See, Inquisitor, you're already leaving people speechless. You'll do great tonight.”


End file.
